Labels and manufacture thereof

ABSTRACT

A self-adhesive label comprising a self-adhesive base portion which is adhered by its self-adhesive surface to a backing of release material, a folded leaflet portion which is disposed over the base portion and a self-adhesive overlaminate portion which is adhered by its self-adhesive surface to a part of the top surface of the folded leaflet portion and to exposed parts of the top surface of the base portion on opposed sides of the folded leaflet portion so as to retain the leaflet portion in a folded configuration, the overlaminate portion exposing an end part of the folded leaflet portion whereby the end part can be pulled by user thereby to open the label. The invention also provides a method of producing such labels.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a self-adhesive label and to a methodof producing self-adhesive labels.

It is known to manufacture so-called "extended text" multilaminarself-adhesive labels for application to products, the labels beingopenable so as to reveal previously hidden printed areas.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims to provide an improved extended textself-adhesive label.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a self-adhesive labelcomprising a self-adhesive base portion which is adhered by itsself-adhesive surface to a backing of release material, a folded leafletportion which is disposed over the base portion and a self-adhesiveoverlaminate portion which is adhered by its self-adhesive surface to apart of the top surface of the folded leaflet portion and to exposedparts of the top surface of the base portion on opposed sides of thefolded leaflet portion so as to retain the leaflet portion in a foldedconfiguration, the overlaminate portion exposing an end part of thefolded leaflet portion whereby the end part can be pulled by userthereby to open the label.

The present invention also provides a method of producing a successionof self-adhesive labels carried on a backing of release material, themethod comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a laminar material comprising a web of self-adhesive basematerial carried on a backing web of release material;

(b) applying a succession of folded leaflets to the top surface of theweb of base material;

(c) applying a self-adhesive overlaminating web over the folded leafletsand exposed parts of the top surface of the web of base material; and

(d) cutting through the overlaminating web, the folded leaflets and thebase material as far as the backing of release material so as to form asuccession of self-adhesive labels on the backing of release material,the overlaminating step (c) and the cutting step (d) being carried outso that in each self-adhesive label a portion of a respective foldedleaflet is sandwiched between a portion of the overlaminating web and aportion of the base material web, with a part of the folded leafletportion being exposed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way ofexample only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a succession of self-adhesive labels carried ona backing of release material in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a section on line A--A of the self-adhesive label shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section on line B--B of the self-adhesive label shown inFIG. 1;

FIGS. 4(a),(b) and (c) show in sequence the web assembly during themanufacture of the self-adhesive labels shown in FIG. 1 in accordancewith a first embodiment of the method of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of an apparatus for producingself-adhesive labels in accordance with the method of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of an apparatus for producing theself-adhesive labels of FIG. 1 in accordance with a second embodiment ofthe method of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of the control system of theapparatus of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, there is shown a self-adhesive label 2 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. It will be seenfrom FIG. 1 that a succession of such self-adhesive labels 2 is carriedon a backing 4 of release material, such as silicon coated paper. Eachlabel 2 includes a lowermost self-adhesive base portion 6 which iscoated on its rear surface with a pressure-sensitive adhesive and isadhered thereby to the backing 4 of release material. The base portion 6preferably comprises a transparent plastics layer, for example ofpolypropylene. However, it may be comprised of paper. A folded leafletportion 8 is disposed over the base portion 4 and extends transverselyacross the self-adhesive label 2. The folded leaflet portion 8preferably comprises a paper sheet which has been folded with aplurality of folds so as to have a number of layers. A variety ofdifferent folded configurations can be employed in accordance with thepresent invention. For example, the leaflet portion 8 may have aplurality of fold lines so as to comprise 32 pages. A self-adhesiveoverlaminate portion 10 has a rear surface coated with apressure-sensitive adhesive and the rear surface is adhered over a partof the upper surface of the leaflet portion 8 and to parts of the uppersurface of the base portion 6 on opposed sides of the leaflet portion 8so as to adhere the folded leaflet portion 8 in a closed configurationto the base portion 6. The overlaminate portion 10 preferably comprisesa self-adhesive transparent plastics material, such as polypropylene,although it may be comprised of paper. The preferred plastics materialof the overlaminate portion 10 preferably has a smaller thickness thanthe preferred plastics material of the base portion 6. The overlaminateportion 10 covers a major portion, but not all, of the upper surface ofthe self-adhesive label 2 so that at one edge of the self-adhesive label2 an end part 12 of the folded leaflet portion 8 and adjacent parts 14of the base portion 6 are exposed. The end part 12 can be pulled by auser so as to separate the folded leaflet portion 8 and the overlaminateportion 10 adhered thereover from the base portion 6. The folded leafletportion 8 can then be unfolded and read by a user. In order to assistthe removal of the overlaminate portion 10 from the base portion 6, theentire surface of the base portion 6 may have been pre-coated with a UVcurable varnish which assists in partially deadening the adhesiveinterface between the pressure-sensitive adhesive on the overlaminateportion 10 and the upper surface of the base portion 6 so as to assistremoval of the overlaminate portion 10 from the base portion 6.

It will be seen from FIG. 1 that three edges of the overlaminate portion10 are coincident with corresponding edges of the base portion 6, whichedges have been cut in a single cutting step so that the overlaminateportion 10 has wing portions 16 on the opposed sides of the leafletportion 8 which are large in area and tend to prevent the folded labelfrom being inadvertently opened. The two end edges of the folded leafletportion 8 are preferably coincident with corresponding end edges of thebase portion 6, those edges having been cut in a single cutting step.

A first embodiment of method of manufacturing the self-adhesive labelsof FIGS. 1 to 3 is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Initially, a laminar material 20 comprising a web of self-adhesive basematerial 22 carrying a backing web of release material 24 is fed outfrom a reel 26 thereof between a pair of rollers 28. A feeding device 30applies a succession of the folded leaflets 32 to the upper surface ofthe base material 22 as shown in FIG. 4(a). The folded leaflets 32 arepreferably, as shown in FIG. 5, assembled onto the base material web 22at the rollers 28 at which, in addition, a web 34 of self-adhesiveoverlaminating material is laminated over the folded leaflets 32 and thebase material 22 so as to form a composite web 36 in which a successionof leaflets 32 is sandwiched between the overlaminating web 34 and thebase material web 22. As shown in FIG. 4(b) the overlaminating web 34 isnarrower in width than the base material web 22. The overlaminating web34 and the base material web 22 are longitudinally offset so as to havea coincident longitudinal edge on one side of the composite web 36 sothat on the other side of the composite web 36 end parts 38 of thefolded leaflets 32 are exposed together with edge portions 40 of thebase material web 22. The composite web 36 is then fed to a die-cuttingstation 42 comprising a die-cutting roller 44 and a backing roller 46.At the die-cutting station 42, the composite web 36 is cut by cuttingthrough the overlaminating web 34, the applied leaflets 32 and the basematerial web 22 as far as, but not through, the backing web 24 ofrelease material so as to form the self-adhesive labels 2 on the backingweb 24 of release material, as shown in FIG. 4(c). The cutting iscarried out so that the two opposed ends of the folded leaflet 32 arecut away so that the cut ends of the folded leaflet portion in theresultant self-adhesive label 2 are coincident with edges of the label2. Alternatively, the edge of the end part 38 of the leaflet 32 is notcut away, the cut edge of the base material 22 being substantiallycoincident with the edge of the end part 38. The waste produced duringthe cutting step, consisting of a matrix of the base material 22 havingadhered thereto cut away parts of the folded leaflets 32 and a wastematrix of the overlaminating material 34, is removed and wound into areel 48. The succession of self-adhesive labels 2 carried on the backingweb 24 of release material is wound into a reel 50.

A second embodiment of a method of producing labels in accordance withthe invention is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7.

Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown an apparatus, designated generallyas 102, for producing a reel 104 carrying a succession of self-adhesivelabels 106. The reel 104 comprises an indeterminate length of a backingweb 108 of release material, typically comprising a silicone-facedbacking paper. The backing web 108 is provided in a reel 110 of duplexlabelstock material 109 comprising a self-adhesive web 112 of paper orplastics which is coated on its reverse side with pressure-sensitiveadhesive and is carried on the release material web 108. The reel 110 ismounted in the apparatus 102 as a supply reel which is fed out over oneor more guide rollers 114 to a label applying station, designatedgenerally as 116, which includes a pair of opposed rollers 118,120between which the labelstock material 109 is passed. At the labelapplying station 116, individual folded printed labels 122 are fedbetween the rollers 118,120 by a label feed system designated generallyas 126, whereby the folded labels 122 are applied to the upper surfaceof the self-adhesive web 112. A self-adhesive laminate 128, typically ofplastics, is fed out from a supply reel 130 and between the rollers118,120 so as to be laminated by its self-adhesive surface over thefolded labels 122 which have been applied to the underlying web 112 ofself-adhesive material. The folded labels 122 are thereby adhered to theself-adhesive web 112. The combined web/label assembly 131 is conveyedto a die-cutting station designated generally as 132 which includes anupper die-cutting roller 134 with a lower opposed backing roller 136.The die-cutting station 134 is downstream in the direction of webmovement from the label feed system 126. At the die-cutting station 132,the resultant self-adhesive labels 106 are cut out from the overlyinglaminar material 128, the folded labels 122 and the self-adhesive web112. The release web 108 is not cut. The waste web skeleton 138 whichmay include waste pieces of the folded labels 122 is wound up on a wastereel 140 and the web of release backing material 108 carrying thesuccession of self-adhesive labels 106 is wound up on reel 104 as atake-up reel, the backing material web 108 having been fed over one ormore guide rollers 142.

The label feed system 126 has an output end 44 past which the labelstockmaterial 109 comprising the self-adhesive web 112 carried on the web 108of release backing material is moved by a web conveying systemcomprising a drive unit (not shown) and the supply and take-up reels 104and the guide rollers 114,142, the drive unit rotating at least thetake-up reel 104 and optionally the supply reel 104 and/or one or moreof the guide rollers 114,142. The label feed system 126 also includes aninput end 146 which is disposed beneath a sheet folding unit designatedgenerally as 148. The label feed system 126 has a conveying device whichcomprises upper and lower endless belts 150,152 which are mountedbetween respective pairs of rollers 154,156. The endless belts 150,152are rotatably driven by the respective rollers 154,156 at least one ofwhich is in turn driven by a feed motor 202 so as to move folded labels122 in succession from the input end 146 at which folded labels 122 arereceived from the folding unit 148 to the output end 144 at which foldedlabels 122 are fed onto the self-adhesive web 112 between the rollers118,120.

The folding unit 148 is of generally known construction and comprises azig-zag array of folding rollers 158 together with a zig-zag array offolding pockets 160 on opposed sides of the array of rollers 158. Inuse, the folding rollers 158 rotate continuously to drive a sheetthrough the folding unit 148. In use, a sheet 162 is fed through theuppermost pair of rollers 158 and into the uppermost folding pocket 160.When the leading edge of the sheet 62 hits the end of the folding pocket160, the sheet 162 continues to be fed by the rollers 158 and theinitially flat sheet 162 is then upset by this continued feeding so asto have a folded configuration with a single fold. The location of thefold in the sheet 162 is determined by the depth of the folding pocket160. The single folded sheet 162 is then fed by the next pair of rollers158 (i.e. the second and third rollers) in the zig-zag array into thesecond folding pocket 160 and in the same way a second fold line isformed. This process continues until the desired folded sheet 162 isachieved, the sheet having a number of fold lines corresponding to thenumber of folding pockets 160. The resultant fully folded label 122 isthen fed out from the lowermost pair of rollers 158 between the endlessbelts 150,152 of the label feed system 126.

The folding unit 148 is supplied continuously with printed sheets 162which have been formed from a single printed web 164 which has been fedout from a supply reel 166 thereof. The web 164 has typically beenprinted on one or both sides by a flexographic, letterpress, digitaloffset or lithographic offset printing technique. The printed web 164 isfed out from the reel 166 by a web unwind and guide apparatus,designated generally as 168, and the web is fed to a festoon 170 atwhich a supply length of the printed web 164 is tensioned. The web 164then passes between a drive roller 172 and an upper opposed roller 174of a web feed system 171 which feeds the web intermittently to a cuttingdevice 176 comprising a cutting roller 178 and an opposed backing roller180. The cutting device 176 cuts off a desired length of the printed webto form a separate printed sheet 162 which is then fed into the foldingunit 148.

The drive roller 172 is driven by an electromagnetic clutch 175 whichhas its input shaft 177 continuously driven. The electromagnetic clutch175 is actuated intermittently so as to rotate the drive roller 72 whenthe printed web 164 is required to be fed through the cutting device176.

The feed motor 202 continuously drives not only at least one of rollers154,156 thereby continuously rotating the endless belts 150,152 of thelabel feed system 126 but also continuously drives the folding rollers158 of the folding unit 148 and the input shaft 177 of theelectromagnetic clutch 175 of the drive roller 172 for the printed web164. Preferably, the driven roller or rollers 154,156, the foldingrollers 158 and the input shaft 177 are mechanically geared together,thereby providing a mechanical coupling between the web feed system 171,the folding unit 148 and the label feed system 126.

The apparatus 102 includes a number of sensors, with associated controlsystems, for controlling and coordinating the operation of the variousparts of the apparatus 102. A printed web sensor 182 is provided betweenthe festoon 170 and the drive roller 172 for the printed web 164. Thesensor 172, which is typically a photodetector, is adapted to detect aseries of printed marks along the printed web 164. The detection of eachprinted mark causes a detection signal to be generated which switchesoff the electromagnetic clutch 175 for the drive roller 172 and actuatesthe cutting device 176 when the web 164 has stopped. The cutting device,and the web drive, are thereby operable in response to a detectionsignal from the sensor. This ensures that accurately cut printed sheets162 are formed from the printed web 164, each printed sheet 162 havingthe required length and being registered with respect to the printing onthe web 164. The web 164 is then moved again through the cutting device176 after a short delay in the next cycle by actuation of theelectromagnetic clutch 175 for the drive roller 172.

A second sensor 184 is provided in the label feed system 126 and isadapted to detect each folded label 122 as it passes along the labelfeed system 126. The sensor 184 is typically a photodetector which isadapted to detect either an edge, for example the leading edge, of eachfolded label 122 or a printed registration mark on each folded label122. The second sensor is adapted to control the application of thefolded label 122 to the self-adhesive web 112 so that it is in registrywith the die-cutting roller 134. This registration is employed when theweb 109 is not pre-printed, pre-cut or otherwise provided with asuccession of registration points along the length of the web 109. Thesecond sensor 184 controls the application of the folded label 122 byvarying the speed of the feed motor 202 in the manner described below.The variation of the speed of the feed motor 202 causes correspondingspeeding up or slowing down of the web feed system 171, the folding unit148 and the label feed system 126 which are coupled together.

An embodiment of a control system for controlling and coordinating theoperation of the label feed system 126, together with the web feedsystem 171 and the folding unit 148, the web conveying system and thedie-cutting roller 134 of FIG. 6 will now be described with reference toFIG. 7. The web conveying system 186 comprises a main motor 188 whichdrives the take-up reel 104 and preferably at least one of the supplyreel 110, the guide rollers 114,142 and the rollers 120 and 136. A speedsetter 190 inputs a digital signal into the main motor 188representative of the desired web speed. The main motor 188 is connectedto an encoder 192 which is adapted continuously to output a series ofpulses, the instantaneous rate of which is related to the actual speedof the main motor 188. The pulses are received by a motor control 194which compares the instantaneous pulse rate with the rate of the desiredset speed and if there is a difference in those two rates, the motorcontrol 194 outputs a feedback signal which is received by the mainmotor 188 and instantaneously corrects the speed of the main motor 188.

This feedback control provides continuous instantaneous control of thespeed of the main motor 188 so that at any given time the actual speedis the same as the desired set speed.

The encoder 192 also outputs a pulse signal, comprising a series ofpulses at a particular rate, to a pulse counter 196. Each pulse isrepresentative of a specific angular rotation of the main motor 188 andthus is representative of a specific distance which the labelstock webmaterial has moved as a result of being driven by the main motor 188.

The pulse counter 196 outputs a series of pulses to a ratio selector198. However, in an alternative arrangement, the series of pulses couldbe outputted directly to the ratio selector 198 from the encoder 192.The ratio selector 198 can be set to a predetermined ratio, typically tofour decimal places, so that the pulse rate output therefrom is apredetermined ratio of the pulse rate input from the pulse counter 196.The output of pulses from the ratio selector 198 is fed to a motorcontrol 200 for a feed motor 202 of the label feed system 126. The motorcontrol 200 outputs a pulsed motor control signal to the feed motor 202and the feed motor 202 rotates at a speed governed by the pulse rate ofthe pulsed motor control signal. In this way, the pulsed motor controlsignal controls the feed motor 202 and thereby the rate at which foldedprinted labels 122 are delivered onto the self-adhesive web 112 by thelabel feed system 126. The rate at which the printed web 164 is fed bythe web feed system 171, thereby controlling the rate at which printedsheets 162 are fed into the folding unit 148, and the rate of operationof the folding unit 148 are also correspondingly controlled because theweb feed system 171 and the folding unit 148 are geared to the labelfeed system 126.

In a manner similar to that of the main motor 188, the feed motor 202 isconnected to an encoder 204 which is adapted continuously to output aseries of pulses, the instantaneous rate of which is related the actualspeed of the feed motor 202. The pulses are received by the motorcontrol 200 which compares the instantaneous pulse rate with the rate ofthe desired set speed. If there is a difference in the two pulse rates,the motor control 200 outputs a feedback signal which may be positive ornegative depending on whether the feed motor 102 is running slow orfast. The feedback signal is added arithmetically to the pulsed inputfrom the ratio selector 198 to form the pulsed motor control signalwhich is fed to the feed motor 202. Thus the pulsed motor control signalmay be continuously varied to ensure that the feed motor 202 is runningat a speed that is at the desired ratio of the speed of the main motor188. It will be understood that the motor control 200 also acts as apulsed signal accumulator.

In this way the web conveying system and the label feed system can bearranged to run at a set speed ratio, the speed ratio being related tothe length of each finished label, the length of each folded label whichis applied to the web and the spacing between the folded labels on theweb.

The label feed system 126 is also controlled with respect to thedie-cutting roller 134 so as to ensure that when each folded printedlabel 122 is applied to the self-adhesive web 112, the folded printedlabel 122 is applied at substantially the correct position, irrespectiveof any fluctuations or variations in the position of the folded printedlabels upstream of the sensor 184 in the label feed system 126 and thefolding unit 148, so that when the folded printed label 122 is cut bythe die-cutting roller 34 at the die-cutting station 132, the die-cut issubstantially in registration with the folded printed label 122.

The die-cutting roller 134 is provided with a die-sensor 206. Thedie-sensor 206 detects when the die-cutting roller 134 is at aprescribed angular orientation and thus correlates the die-cuttingroller 134 with respect to a particular stage of the die-cutting cycle.For example, the die-sensor 206 may be arranged to emit a die-signal atthe commencement of a rotary die-cutting operation. The die-sensor 206is adapted to input a die-sensor signal to the pulse counter 196 whichtriggers the pulse counter 196 into outputting a pulse count signal to acomparator 208. The folded label sensor 184 also sends a signal to thecomparator 208 when it detects a folded label 122. The two signals fromthe pulse counter 196 and the folded label sensor 184 received by thecomparator 208 are processed and compared to yield an error signal whichis indicative of any distance which the actual position of the detectedfolded label 122 in the label feed system 126 leads or lags a desiredposition which is in registry with respect to the die-cutting roller134. Such an error signal is outputted by the comparator 208 to themotor control accumulator 200 of the label feed system 126. This causesthe feed motor 202 of the label feed system 126 to be instantaneouslyspeeded up or slowed down thereby to advance or retard the applicationto the self-adhesive web 112 of the detected folded label 122 in thelabel feed system 126 so that that detected folded label 122 is appliedto the self-adhesive web 112 at the correct position with respect to thedownstream die-cutting operation by the die-cutting roller 134. In thislabel producing apparatus, the die-cutting roller 134 defines theposition of the resultant self-adhesive labels 106 along the web ofrelease material 104 and the position of the folded printed labels 122is registered on the labelstock web 109 with respect to the die-cuttingroller 134. Thus the folded printed labels 122 in the label feed system126 chase the position of the die-cutting roller 134 and each foldedprinted label 122 is applied to a target position on the web 112 whichis correlated to a subsequent die-cut made by the die-cutting roller134.

The operating speeds of the printed web feed system 171 and the foldingunit 148 are preset with respect to the set speed of the label feedsystem 126 so that folded sheets 122 are fed at a desired rate from thefolding unit 148 into the label feed system 126, but those operatingspeeds are varied in synchronism with any variation in the actual speedof the label feed system as a result of the coupling of those componentstogether.

In operation, the web drive unit 168 continuously feeds the printed web164 into the festoon 170, and any slack in the web 164, as a result ofthe intermittent operating of the drive roller 172 as described below,is taken up by the web drive unit 168. The drive roller 172 feeds theprinted web 164 through the cutting device 176 until the sensor 182detects the next printed mark on the printed web 164. At this point, thedesired length of the printed web 164 has been fed through the cuttingdevice 176. The drive roller 172 is instantaneously stopped by theelectromagnetic clutch 175 to stop the web movement through the cuttingdevice 176 and the cutting roller 178 is actuated to cut the desiredlength from the printed web 164. The cut sheet 162 is then fed into thefolding unit 148, folded to the desired folded configuration and thenfed between the endless belts 150,152 of the label feed system 126.After the cutting operation, the web drive roller 172 is started againto commence the next feeding, cutting and folding cycle.

The label feed system 126 operates continuously and applies thesuccession of folded printed labels 122 onto the continuously moving web112. As described hereinabove, the speed of the label feed system 126 isset to be a particular ratio of the speed of the web conveying systemand the application of each folded printed label 122 to the web 112 iscontrolled with respect to the position of the die-cutting roller 134.

The folded printed sheets 122 are adhered to the self-adhesive web 112by the self-adhesive laminar material 128 and then the combined assembly131 is die-cut at the die-cutting station 132 and the waste 138 removed.

In an alternative arrangement, the printed web 164 may be cut to formprinted sheets 162 with waste web portions between adjacent printedsheets 162. The cutting unit 176 may then be adapted to effect two cutsduring one cutting cycle, the first cut to cut off the printed sheet 162and the second cut to cut of a waste web portion. The waste web portionmay be ejected from the web feed system or the folding unit anddiscarded. This arrangement may be employed when the printed web 164 isprinted with a repeat length which is not the same as the length of theprinted sheet. This enables the apparatus to utilise webs having fixedrepeat lengths irrespective of variations in size of the printed sheets162. This is an important advantage because it enables the use of websprinted with fixed repeat lengths to be used, for example those producedby a digital offset or lithographic offset printing process whichenables high quality printed images to be printed on the labels, forvarying lengths of printed sheets.

The present invention provides a self-adhesive label which is, by theuse of a plastics overlaminating layer, protected against soiling ordamage during transport and prior to use. However, when it is desired toopen the label, a relatively small part of the folded leaflet can bepulled away from the self-adhesive base of the label to enable the labelto be opened. The labels of the present invention are readily andeconomically manufactured because a succession of the folded leaflets issandwiched between two self-adhesive webs. The use of two webs ofdifferent widths, but which are offset relative to each other, enablesthe desired configuration to be achieved which incorporates an exposedpart of the folded leaflet, in combination with only a singledie-cutting step.

The self-adhesive label made in accordance with the present inventionhas particular application in labelling products such as pharmaceuticalsin which a large amount of printed information is required to beprovided on a relatively small area or "footprint" of the product.

I claim:
 1. A self-adhesive label comprising:a self-adhesive baseportion which is adhered by its self-adhesive surface to a backing ofrelease material, a folded leaflet portion which is disposed over thebase portion and a self-adhesive overlaminate portion which is adheredby its self-adhesive surface to a part of the top surface of the foldedleaflet portion and to exposed parts of the top surface of the baseportion on opposed sides of the folded leaflet portion so as to retainthe leaflet portion in a folded configuration, the overlaminate portionexposing an end part of the folded leaflet portion the exposed end partbeing of sufficient size to be pulled by a user thereby to open thelabel.
 2. A self-adhesive label according to claim 1 wherein theoverlaminate portion comprises a plastics layer.
 3. A self-adhesivelabel according to claim 1 wherein the base portion comprises a plasticslayer.
 4. A self-adhesive label according to claim 3 wherein the baseportion is coated with a material which partially deadens the adhesiveinterface between the self-adhesive surface of the overlaminate portionand the upper surface of the base portion.
 5. A self-adhesive labelaccording to claim 4 wherein the material comprises a varnish.
 6. Aself-adhesive label according to claim 5 wherein the varnish is a UVcurable varnish.
 7. A self-adhesive label according to claim 1 whereinthe said end part is disposed at one edge of the self-adhesive label. 8.A self-adhesive label according to claim 7 wherein the end part isdisposed between two exposed parts of the base portion.
 9. Aself-adhesive label according to claim 1 wherein the base portion has athickness greater than that of the overlaminate portion.
 10. A method ofproducing a succession of self-adhesive labels carried on a backing ofrelease material, the method comprising the steps of:(a) providing alaminar material comprising a web of self-adhesive base material carriedon a backing web of release material; (b) applying a succession ofindividual folded leaflets to the top surface of the web of basematerial; (c) applying a self-adhesive overlaminating web over thefolded leaflets and exposed parts of the top surface of the web of basematerial; and (d) cutting through the overlaminating web, the foldedleaflets and the base material as far as the backing of release materialso as to form a succession of self-adhesive labels on the backing ofrelease material, the overlaminating step (c) and the cutting step (d)being carried out so that in each self-adhesive label a portion of arespective folded leaflet is sandwiched between a portion of theoverlaminating web and a portion of the base material web, with a partof the folded leaflet portion being exposed.
 11. A method according toclaim 10 wherein the overlaminating web has a width less than that ofthe base material.
 12. A method according to claim 11 wherein theoverlaminating and base material webs are offset whereby the said partsof the folded leaflet portions are exposed and not covered by theoverlaminating web.
 13. A method according to claim 10 wherein in thecutting step (d) at least one of the folded leaflets is cut away.
 14. Amethod according to claim 10 wherein the overlaminating web comprises aplastics web.
 15. A method according to claim 10 wherein the basematerial comprises a plastics web.
 16. A method according to claim 15further comprising the step before applying step (b) of coating the basematerial with a material which, in the resultant labels, partiallydeadens the adhesive interface between the self-adhesive surface of theoverlaminating web and the upper surface of the base material.
 17. Amethod according to claim 16 wherein the material comprises a varnish.18. A method according to claim 17 wherein the varnish is a UV curablevarnish.
 19. A method according to claim 10 wherein the said exposedpart of the folded leaflet portion is disposed at one edge of theself-adhesive label between two exposed parts of the base material. 20.A method according to claim 10 wherein the base material has a thicknessgreater than that of the overlaminating web.